Flourless Banana Bread Bars made in the blender with only a handful of simple ingredients! They’re gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free, so they make a deliciously healthy treat for when those cravings hit.
Hi, hello from a cozy fireside chair in the mountains!
I was actually hoping to finish this post on Friday so I wouldn’t have to do any work while I was travelling this weekend, but I just could.not.get my act together this week. Well, that and the words just wouldn’t come. I can test and photograph recipes at the drop of a hat, but I try not to force out posts because then it’s just a frustrating struggle bus for me and probably comes across that way in my words to you. So I put things off, and off, and off until I feel it, and I usually feel it at the last minute when I just can’t put things off anymore.
What can I say? [Self-made] deadlines are a good motivator. At least that’s what I tell myself.
And that’s actually what I’ve been telling myself since college… or maybe even high school… where any paper I had to write was usually started the night before and finished the morning it was due.
Like… I can’t even tell you guys how many nights I remember staying up till 3 or 4am working on a paper I had started hours earlier. And I kept doing it because I somehow managed to convince myself that the stress of a deadline cleared my head of the extra clutter and helped me write more concisely.
I know it might sound a little crazy, but I always ended up doing really well on my papers, which only further reinforced my questionably poor behaviour. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
So I know that’s all “cool story bro” and all, but what’s it got to do with flourless banana bread bars?
Well… nothing, really. It’s just where my thoughts went when I started talking about not finishing this post ahead of time. Although I suppose I could try to be clever and talk about how much I loved snacking during those late night writing sessions, and then say something like: “And you know what would have been the perfect brain-food snack at a time like that? These flourless banana bread bars! *fanfare*” But we’re not gonna go that route.
Because when you’re this good? You don’t need no corny segues or introductions. You just need that gorgeous, chocolate-covered face of yours…
So, like the Flourless Sweet Potato Brownies I posted last week (which you guys are freaking LOVING… thank you, thank you, thank you!), these bars are… well… flourless. Unlike those brownies, they’re not 100% grain-free because of the oats. But they’re still gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free, so that counts for something, right?
Especially since they’re super easy to make, with only 5 minutes spent tossing ingredients like almond butter, oats, almond flour, bananas, honey, and an egg into a blender, mixing it up for around 30 seconds to get things nice and smooth, and then baking for 20 minutes (and topping with melted chocolate, because everything is better when it’s covered in chocolate).
After all that’s done, you have yourself a batch of deliciously tender banana flavoured bars that literally melt in your mouth and induce all sorts of inappropriate noises. AND! they’re also perfect for those deadline-motivated writing and/or study sessions. I know this because I may just be snacking on one right now.
Happy eating!!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Flourless Banana Bread Bars
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 2 medium-size ripe bananas (200 g or 1 cup mashed)
- 1/4 cup (64 g) almond butter*
- 2 tbsp (40 g) honey
- 1/2 cup (40 g) rolled oats (gluten-free, if needed)
- 1/4 cup (28 g) almond flour
- 2 tbsp (14 g) ground flaxseed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- optional: 3 Tbsp (30 g) dairy-free chocolate chips, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and prepare an 8 x 8 (20 x 20 cm) baking pan by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on the sides to allow for easy removal. Set aside.
- Add all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips to a high-speed blender or food processor in the order listed, and process on high until the batter becomes smooth and creamy, taking care to scrape down the sides if necessary.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan, using a spatula to distribute it evenly. Bake for 20 – 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the bars from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If you want to add the melted chocolate topping, place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe dish, and nuke them in 30 second intervals until they’re completely melted. Then, pour the chocolate over the bars and use a spoon or spatula to spread it around. Or, spread the chocolate directly onto pre-cut bars.
- Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
* Feel free to use whichever nut or seed butter you have on hand or meets your dietary needs.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Looking for more healthy banana recipes? Try one of these!
One Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins
Healthy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Banana Oat Breakfast Smoothie
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies
Strawberry Banana Oat Bars
*Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you so much for helping support Spoons!
My craft has greatly improved thanks to your recipes. When I utilize your recipes, my family gush over me.
Your article is great and great, thank you for sharing it to people like us
I have read through other blogs, but they are cumbersome and confusing more than your post. I hope you continue to have such quality articles to share with everyone! I believe a lot of people will be like to read this article!
The cake looks delicious, thank you for sharing the way, thanks to it I can also make it myself.
DREAMING of these right now!
Hi! Can you taste the nutbutter in the recipe? I prefer the taste of peanut butter but wouldn’t mind using almond butter if the flavor didn’t come through too strong. Thanks! Can’t wait to make these!
These look so delicious and will be perfect for me to make for a little gathering we are having at the weekend. I was recently diagnosed as gluten intolerant and this is exactly the sort of recipe that I have been looking for – thank you so much for sharing!
Holly xo
I hope you like them!
Hi Amanda! I’m excited to make these. I’m wondering if I can add collagen powder into them? Have you tried this or have any recommendations if I do add it in to bake? Thank you! 🙂
Please specify gluten free oats. If someone made this with any old rolled oats it would make any celiac very unwell. People often want to do something kind for my kids and I, so find a “gluten free” recipe not knowing much about how delicate the situation is.
A slight change in the recipe will save someone like me.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Ema. I’ll go in and change that right away.
Do you need to add the flaxseed? I bake a lot but have never used flaxseed. Baked the chocolate pumpkin
brownies . It was great!! Will definetly share that one. I got your cookbook looking through that
I like to add flaxseed to flourless baked goods because I’ve found that it helps hold things together and make them fluffier. I’m really glad you liked the brownies! 😀
Haha I hear you on procrastinating. I finally have a few recipe post but I’ve been majorly procrastinating on editing the photos – that’s my least favourite part ugh.
Anyways I’m glad you got this post up because these look DELICIOUS!
Good luck with the editing! I actually like that part the most, although I think it takes me longer than it should sometimes because I tinker around with the settings too much 😆
I’m confused the egg is dairy, is the flaxseed supposed to replace it? I’m going to try it without the add just use Flax?
If you wanted to leave the egg out completely, you can replace it with a flax egg and still add the 2 tablespoons that are in the recipe.
Can you make these without the egg, would love to try them.
I haven’t tried myself so I can’t say 100% for sure, Carol, but I’ve made a similar muffin recipe vegan by replacing the egg with a flax egg. So just add an extra tablespoon of ground flax and mix it with 3 tablespoons of water before adding that in. Hope that helps!
Hi
Thank you so much for this recipe I’m definitely trying this one! Not sure if I’m missing something tho..where are the notes that correspond to the * and **?
Ps: yes I’m so with you..I procrastinate big time!! I’m totally fascinated by people who start studying/tasks like two weeks before the time..
Ack! I completely forgot to add the notes. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Fay. The * is to say that you can use whichever nut or seed butter you have on hand or is your favourite, and there shouldn’t be a **. Sorry about that!